It is known that in numerous fields such as, for example, cosmetics, perfumery or pharmacy, products such as small capacity bottles are, because of their small size, grouped together so as to market them in assemblies each comprising a plurality of products. For this purpose, folding boxes are most commonly used, which are supplied flat for reasons of bulk. These boxes are pre-cut and have pre-determined folding edges so that they can be erected by simple folding without requiring a glueing or stapling operation.
It is also known that this type of cardboard packaging must conform to various requirements, which include low cost, because these folding cardboard packages are generally used as one-way packaging. This problem is partially solved by selecting inexpensive materials such as compact or corrugated cardboard, but it also depends on the box manufacturing steps.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device which makes it possible to mechanise the use of folding boxes or cases of the type which are supplied flat and are capable of being closed at least at one of their two ends. More precisely, the present invention proposes to produce a device which makes it possible to carry out automatically a sequence of two successive operations, namely a first operation in which the box is formed, so as to convert its original flat configuration to a substantially parallelepiped shape, and a second operation of closing one of the ends of the box thus formed.